Race of Racism
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Person who intent to define racism ,turns himself orthodox to an extent that he fails to judge his own ideology. He blindly trusts and patronize as an ultimate beliver to what maximum supports.A racist fails to possess quality of self - acknowledgement . The word racism has a wide portrait that varies from eyes to eyes. It is not limited only to color and complextion , it has crop up as a nasty odour from the social holocaust that inflicts pain and torture on every deprived unfortunate .
Girl Child - a gift of infanticide -
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When the biological clock turns her grace on a woman
She overwhelmes with tears of completeness
Now she has stepped into the world of nativity
She endures all prick and pang ,
mood swings that obstructs her flank
Yet she dreams of the little face
That made her a creator ,a life giver of her race.
She weaves mittens and booties
Her gentle palm feels her baby bump
No one witness her excitement
The moment she sense her unborn jumps
She dreamt , She grew ,She felt and flared
The tedious month of nine she groomed and cared.
Did she know about the heinous norms waiting for her-
It's a Girl , and she must perforce end to the new born's life.
She is not at fault, neither is the mother,
But Social dogma claims ,
The baby is a Girl and she is not the heir.
We have given the highest alter to our Goddesses, relief our grief on our mother's lap, satisfy our ecstasy of love in the softness of one's soul mate , then when a womb gives birth to a baby girl ,why is she destroyed and made silent in a bowl of milk. Is it hypocrisy or irony , or an insult to the woman race. No it is the Race of Racism that human adore and not the supreme creation of nature.
A drop of milk gives life to a new born
A bowl of milk kills her soul,
We worship cow for her divinity
And we fear to accept a human girl child and her chastity.
Dowry ornaments our Indian Bride-
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Yet I was fortunate than others
I was welcomed by my father,
I was groomed and nurtured
- nursed and fostered ,.
With immense affection ,attachment and care.
I grew like a flame and signature to my family,
I conquered to be the heir and no one denied my ability.
I was skilled, learned and not ignorant,
Worked in a lettered private firm ,encircled by the multi-talented.
But One day, like every ordinary girl -
Decided to depart with my identity and luxury
And adapt all the good and odds of my Master's disarray .
When all guests hailed to join ,
- the couple in the holy wedlock
My groom denied to accept me,
Reason echoed - The girl is Dark.
The pride of my family was turned down as a shame.
My capability was judged with my complexion
Before the spectators my Pater laid his turban down.
I was throned over a balance beam ,
To check my dowry scheme.
My color rewarded me high auction,
I was dark and I was sold.
Where She is accepted by her family and titled as the light of her dynasty, there she is abondoned by our society because a marriage is certified with her complexion. Even if she steps over the moon and mars , she will be qualified in amount of dowry and color. This is not superiority, neither it is a gender ego, it is the Race of Racism which human adore. We encourage our inimical norms to rule and ruin our ideologies, But proclaim valiantly " we are the protectors of our ancient tradition and culture" .
Our culture is ancient and superior we claim
We compare our daughters to Laxmi ,the goddess of wealth
But put down their worth before Dowry-
It's the social killer of dignity,
That wrecks a woman's heart and she melts.
Social Discrimination hail our pride -
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Life doesn't end here,
Grew up from dust, I'm a son of a farmer.
During every harvest my father offered the first grain to mankind.
Our shelter is our small hut
And possession- the green fields.
We've never seen cars nor bungalows
And neither decided to be rich.
We find pleasure in our service
That feeds the thousands tribe .
Old men often advised -
People in cities are descent and wise.
Grew up from dust but dreamt to be alike,
Men in cities with literacy and might.
But my fantasy turned to illusion
And my vision to be one like them was now ,a shuttered cremation.
Men in cities are educated, but-
They abhor the schedule castes and tribes.
I thought we are illiterate ; we are superstitious ,
Now I regret to experience-
The scholars are more helpless.
My ancestors toiled in fields, to provide food for others,
My fellows cleaned their restrooms,
Washed their clothes with menial offers,
Our mothers left behind their children , to breastfeed their mistress's infants ;
Our fathers left aloof their families, to guard the master's house.
But now when the slogan says - " We are One" !
My colleague at office denies to sit by me and dine.
No we are not neglected ,neither we are deprived,
We have the right to live and breathe
The air that you control, but we strife.
From the time of Independence Schedules and Rights are constructed to bring an end to discrimination . The Father of our Nation who fought for the Dalits , The Architect of Our Constitution who in regret converted to Buddhism leaves back no sense of reformation in our hearts. We say we are stepping forward in industrialization but hardly have any check over our ruthless racial segregation. This is not the game between "Have and Have-not" , it's the Race of Racism which human adore.
We westernize our life style ,with jeans and scotch ,
Imitate Hollywood and criticize our lot,
Why do we pretend to change ourselves,
When in heart and mind we still worship-
The filthy castesim , that breaks our knot.
Creator binds but Human divides-
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Saw you the first time when I was Eleven,
You came down from sky like an angel,
Softness and innocence curved your Nine,
We held our bond of friendship divine,
Went together to school and in college we yelled:
Our locale wrote - our fairy tale
Our families were best friends for sure.
I waited to see the beautiful moon of Eid,
Just to glance -,
The blush on your cheeks, that glared with radiant shine.
During Pujas, you came running to aid my mother,
Like a new weded wife .
You spangled my house ,with diyas' - you lid.
Our dreams were true, our promises were firm
I dreamt to be yours and drown in your charismatic charm,
But our destiny played her mysterious game
She drifted us away in Religion's name.
How did everything change and alter?
How can love transform to hatred?
How could our religion triumph over friendship?
And the social norms around us falter.
But we kept our commitment strong,
Till our last breath , never we departed in the name of God,
For He never created religion but human;
Still our blood was shed , and the order was made-
"We had sinned and we were wrong".
But I know ,we will meet again -
For the House of God is always One.
The time we step out of our mother's womb we do not know to which religious logo we will be tagged to . What we know is we received a life of our own but the policies were to be handled by the big religious obligations. During school we mingle and celebrate every festival with candles , diyas and singing Sufi songs but when we grow up, we take no time ,to draw line ,between us. And we excuse our faults by names we give to it, - politics, majority and minority. We encourage such Honor Killing to keep high our social customs and traditions. Is it worth to kill life and love just to treasure the rustic old superstitions, no it's the Race of Racism that human adore.
Revolution has started, minds are in change
Yet we encourage Honor Killing-
In the name of religion.
We have transformed to murderers but are still in fame.
Regret, to such modernity ,
That put us to shame.
Voice of the condemned
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To you all we say ,
Whom we salute as our Nation changers ,
We feel proud to witness your rebel
But sigh to shed our tears
They lay a deaf ears to our cry
And be blind to see the tormented.
Whom do we curse and over whom do we scream?
Where the beggars are in number ,more than our treasury
And slums over pours like a sea.
Where No one cares to make a ramp for a disable
Neither helps to cross a blind who can't see,
Where all keeps mum when a girl is raped
And an old is left astray by her son,
To perish and die as he flee.
How can we claim for justice ?
Why do we mourn?
When we ourselves are caged in the social plague-
That spreads like a whirlwind - which do not remorse,
Our modern minds made it late'
Alas! Its the Race of Racism we have set.
Yes! It's we who possess all evil in us:
And yet, demand the society to change.
"Race of Racism will be wiped off someday ,
If every individual take one step - to change oneself."
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- Adwitiya Datta Banik